Chapter 130: Xiang Hua vs Yan Mei

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The instructor decided to give everyone a 5-minute break while preparing the next teams that would compete.

Although this time was an opportunity for everyone to calm their nerves, it seemed to have the opposite effect.

Apart from the group that won the first round and Xun Wei, everyone else was feeling the increasing pressure of the challenge.

The results of the first round had essentially determined part of how the rest of the competition would unfold, and as of now, things weren't looking good for any of them.

Excluding Tan Chi, who was still in disbelief over the result of his match, the other two couldn't stop glancing back and forth between those who would participate in the next round, including Xun Wei.

Hm?

Xun Wei, who was already in a bad mood because of the masked boy, couldn't help but glare at them when he noticed their continuous glances.

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Ethan, who had passed the first round, noticed that he had received at least a glance from both Xiang Hua and Yan Mei.

He couldn't quite tell what was going through their minds, but the fact that he now had the attention of two of the women highly regarded for this tournament gave him a strange feeling.

'Seems like even the mask can't fully hide my charm,' he thought with a serious expression, as if the matter were of great importance.

At these thoughts, Bai Yu could only shake her head.

At first, it wasn't very noticeable, but the more she interacted with Ethan over the last year, the more his slightly narcissistic side became evident.

The strange thing was that, due to the various improvements he had undergone over the past year, from his bloodline to his ever-growing cultivation base, his natural appearance was already far above average.

The only reason he hadn't attracted much attention from others was that he spent most of his time secluded on the hill of his residence.

Not to mention the products he used to hide some of his physical traits, like the crystalline blue color of his eyes.

That said, it was certainly not because of that reason that the two girls had paid him some attention, and both he and she knew it.

'Haa, I wonder what face she'd make if she knew I'm her fellow disciple,' Ethan thought, imagining Xiang Hua's reaction.

He had only met her once, and he could tell that the impression she had of him wasn't the best.

He still wasn't sure why, but he didn't make much of it since he was a person he knew he wouldn't meet very often.

Today had been pure coincidence.

He doubted that after the imperial tournament, the two of them would have much interaction beyond what was required by the sect master.

And so, in the blink of an eye, the 5 minutes passed, and the second round finally began.

Whether by a twist of fate or simply by chance,

Tan Chi, who had barely recovered from the previous shock of his crushing defeat, ended up being paired against Xun Wei.

'F*ck'

The small glimmer of hope he had before was now completely gone.

Out of all the participants in the second round, the one he absolutely wanted to avoid fighting right away was undoubtedly Xun Wei.

The other two participants, seeing this, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

All three of them knew that once they won, they would have to face the winner of the other match, which was almost certainly going to be Xun Wei.

They knew their fate was sealed, so their goal wasn't to aim for the three spots in the imperial tournament, but rather to avoid suffering two consecutive defeats.

They were all young alchemists with a reputation to maintain.

If word got out that they lost every match, it would deal a significant blow to their budding careers.

Two hours passed, and as expected, Xun Wei won the first match with a total of 8 pills from the list produced.

Tan Chi, though expecting to lose this round, still decided to give his best, and this time, he managed to surpass his previous record by producing a total of 7 out of the 10 pills listed.

Though he lost, he was at least satisfied with this result.

Meanwhile, among the competitors of the second match of this round, the winner was the tall boy with the strangely pale complexion.

After the two matches ended, the examiner asked if they wanted to take a break or continue, and both sides decided to face off immediately without taking any break.

Xun Wei felt there was no need for a break; for him, both the previous opponent and this one were on the same level, so there was no point in wasting time.

The pale boy, on the other hand, thought it was senseless to delay the inevitable, so he too decided to fight immediately without a break.

And in the end, unsurprisingly, Xun Wei won without much effort.

"Alright, and with that, we have our four semifinalists," the examiner calmly stated.

"Given your current disposition, I don't think we need any drawing of lots.

Why don't we do this?

Since we have both a pair of males and a pair of females, we already have the arrangement for this round," he said, laughing at the coincidence.

In other words, he would now have to face Xun Wei.

He could tell that the boy didn't like him, not that he cared, but he found it strange that lately, everyone seemed to have something against him for no particular reason.

At the examiner's words, neither the boys nor the girls said anything, and seeing no objections to this arrangement, the examiner proceeded, saying:

"Alright, since we now have the two pairs who will face off, we can start the next match.

Given that our Xun Wei has already competed in two consecutive rounds, why don't we let you girls go first?" the examiner said, turning to Xiang Hua and Yan Mei.

Both, upon hearing the examiner's words, remained silent and nodded as they proceeded to take their positions on the small field.

Hearing the examiner's decision, Xun Wei couldn't help but feel displeased.

'Exhaust myself competing with those two losers?'

Although he was unhappy with the examiner's words, he restrained himself.

The two girls were already in position, and there was no point in causing a scene now.

The only result he would get was disqualification.

Yan Mei, who was reviewing the list of pills to be produced to check if they were the same as before, couldn't help but wonder if she could beat Xiang Hua.

Even though she had been away from alchemy for a long time, her previous battle made her realize her skills hadn't rusted at all, if anything, they seemed even more refined.

"Hmph, I am no less," she thought, waiting for the examiner's signal to start.

Unlike her, Xiang Hua, on the other side of the small field, didn't think much about her upcoming match with Yan Mei.

She had to admit that for a 19-year-old girl, Yan Mei was undoubtedly a prodigy.

But Xiang Hua also believed that if what she had shown before was her best, then she still wasn't on the same level.

The examiner, seeing that both girls were ready, gave the signal, and the competition finally began.

Both competitors wasted no time in selecting which pill to prepare first and immediately started preparing their materials. It was clear they had already decided on their initial pills.

Watching the speed and fluidity of both parties' movements, even Ethan had to admit they were skilled.

"Hmm… it seems the pills listed this time are different from before," he thought, analyzing the materials both girls had chosen.

With his alchemical skills, he could tell just by looking at the ingredients what kind of pill they might produce, or at least get an idea of the type.

He noticed that the combination of materials and the way they were being prepared for refinement wasn't related to any of the pills listed previously.

He wondered if the level 2 pill that appeared each round had also changed.

But upon thinking about it, if the examiner had given a demonstration for that pill before, he would likely do the same this time, meaning the level 2 pill was probably the same as before.

Ethan didn't miss a single movement from the two girls, and the more he watched, the more he had to admit that they both had a certain talent for alchemy.

Unlike him, who relied entirely on the system's help, these girls had reached this level with their own strength.

Their speed in refinement was second only to his own.

In less than five minutes, both sides had finished refining their first pill.

Yan Mei seemed to be taking a gradual approach, starting with the simpler ones and moving up to the more complex pills.

On the other hand, Xiang Hua appeared more confident in her choices, producing a high-grade level 1 pill right from the start.

Both competitors had chosen completely opposite strategies, yet both were performing exceptionally well.

Even Xun Wei watched this match.

Thus, the match between the two continued without pause, and time flew by in a flash.

In the end, with a score of nine vials of pills to eight, Xiang Hua claimed victory.

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